Our Team
Natalie Blinder, Founder & Executive Director
This war will leave deep scars on all of us. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not only about Russian aggression against Ukraine but about dictatorship versus democracy. As Ukrainians, we are trying to protect our land and our values, like human rights and the freedoms mandated by signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This regime and this war want to strip Ukrainians of their rights. However, the war has unified Ukrainians. It has united Europe and the world against tyranny. Our NGO has received generous support from individuals and companies worldwide wanting to show solidarity with Ukrainians. The donations we received at the outbreak of the war have allowed us to provide substantial one-off help to children, orphanages, and hospitals.
In Ukraine, an increasing number of children impacted by the war are experiencing poverty, hunger, and hardship. They depend on the kindness of strangers to survive. Children’s hospitals also rely on charitable help, scrambling for equipment and medicines to provide care for patients. By endorsing the work BKC does, you are enabling us to continue supporting the children in Ukraine who are facing an uncertain and challenging future. We thank you for standing with Ukraine and choosing to help Ukrainian children through Bright Kids Charity.
If you wish to support BKC on the corporate level, please contact me at n.blinder@brightkidscharity.com.
Liudmyla Bondarchuk, Director
Liudmyla joined BKC at the beginning of 2023. Liudmyla values working in the social field and helping others, especially in light of the full-scale invasion. Her expertise in the charity field, as well as her sense of responsibility, means that we are confident about expanding our presence and partnerships under Liudmyla’s leadership.
Our Volunteers: an essential team and the power of our foundation.
Our volunteers are generous and they are confident that what they do counts.
We have been fortunate to have people helping our organisation locally and remotely, contributing from different countries. Our volunteers are the people who work hard to turn our ideas into a reality, and we are grateful that, since our foundation in 2018, so many people have supported the work of BKC as volunteers, allowing us to reach more children and offer excellent services.
We would like to introduce you to some of our dedicated team:
Deirdre Yeo McKinney, Volunteer Editor
Deirdre is a writer and editor who has contributed to the BKC team since its launch in 2018, editing written content for online publication. She honed her editing skills at a newspaper in Taiwan, correcting copy written by non-native English speakers while preserving the writer’s voice. The Australian native has lived in many parts of the world and has a deep passion for protecting human rights. She has a master’s in International Relations and is committed to supporting BKC by volunteering her time to edit copy.
Nataliia Romanshchak, Consultant
Nataliia Romanshchak joined Bright Kids as a volunteer in the spring of 2019. She helped develop the Future Professions project and provided a document drafting service and website translation. Nataliia was a committed volunteer, motivated by taking responsibility and committing to tasks. When Bright Kids had a vacancy for the position of director in September 2019, she was the obvious candidate for the job. In 2023, following a change in personal circumstances, Nataliia opted for a flexible working arrangement, providing consulting and multilingual legal services. Our projects would not have been possible without her invaluable input and dedication to our charity. We are excited to further the work that BKC does together with Nataliia in her new capacity.
Iryna Motoryna, Project Manager
Iryna started working in the charity sector in 2014, combining charity work with her main job. Iryna holds a degree in Finance, and since 2018, she has been working in the charity sector full-time, focusing her efforts on helping families of children with disabilities, children’s hospitals and orphanages. Iryna shares BKC’s values and objectives and joined our team at the start of the war, motivated by the desire to be helpful at this difficult time for Ukraine.
Iryna Karnaukhova, Project Manager
Meet Iryna Karnaukhova, a project manager at our foundation. We had crossed paths working with Iryna on charitable projects before the war, and as the war started, we were pleased to welcome Ira on board to help coordinate our Crisis Relief projects responding to urgent requests for help. Iryna has 10+ years of experience working in the charity field. She believes that charity encompasses care, support, and life advice; kind words and humour also play an essential role in care.
If you’d like to share a story about your life that could help inspire others, please get in touch with Iryna and our team at info@brightkidscharity.com.
Our children’s centre team
Please meet Yulia, Anna and Natalia, the dedicated team of our children’s centre located in Myrhorod, Poltava Oblast. We believe that all children have the right to enjoy learning through play and receive the help they require in a supportive environment. As the war in Ukraine is ongoing, and children face deprivations in many aspects of life and often lack basic necessities, creating a normalised environment for children is especially important. Our Myrhorod team works to ensure that the children in the centre can learn, play, and receive the psychological support they need in an encouraging and safe indoor setting.